1951 Volkswagen Matador van

"The furniture trade waited upon this vehicle"

The Matador was the only commercially-built, VW air-cooled powered vehicle in Europe that was officially sanctioned by Wolfsburg, but not distributed through the VW network. Built at the Tempo Werke in Hamburg, Germany, by the firm of Vidal und Sohn KG, the Tempo Matador hit the market before VW's own Type II Transporter, and was a success in a market that was desperately short of utility vehicles after the war, especially in the one-ton class. 

Popular and reliable, the design was also adapted to station wagon and Microbus versions. It was even exported to Australia in right hand drive form between 1950-1952, before VW "Kombis" arrived. Previously, the company had been the number one player in the German commercial van market, specialising in three wheelers. This explains why the company was able to produce the majority of parts itself, using few parts from the VW factory except the Type I engine. More here about this and the other VW Matadors.